FIELD CEOPS. 133 



on the qiialitj" of wheat, nitrate of soda seemed to have the most inju- 

 rious effects, much of the wheat being small and shriveled. Wheat 

 from plats fertilized with ammonia salts was the best of all the series, 

 being- "exceedingly well grown and of good color." 



The use of lime with nitrogenous fertilizers on barley had the effect 

 of more than doubling the yield in some cases and greatly increasing 

 it in others. It had the greatest effect when used with nitrate of soda 

 and mineral fertilizers. The best looking crops and 1)rightest grains 

 w^ere obtained where no nitrogenous manures were used. The poorest 

 yields were obtained from plats fertilized with nitrate of soda alone. 



In the rotation experiments the relative manurial value of decorti- 

 cated cotton cake and maize meal was studied. With the barley crop, 

 cotton cake gave better results than maize meal, the yield in the former 

 case being at the rate of 33.4: bu. per acre as against 26.7 bu. in the 

 latter. The artificial equivalent of cotton cake gave a yield of 30.4 bu. 

 per acre as against 28.4 bu. with the artificial equivalent of maize 

 used. The introduction of clover in the rotation had the effect of pro- 

 ducing a very uniform stand of wheat on all the plats, and of entirely 

 obliterating the effects of the decorticated cotton cake and maize meal. 

 This latter fact has rendered necessary the exclusion of clover from 

 the rotation. 



Small-seeded, perennial, Italian, and annual rye grasses were sown 

 separately in 1893 on different plats and fertilized yearly with 500 lbs, 

 of damaged decorticated cotton-cake meal. The object of the experi- 

 ment was to see how long each variety would keep its character. By 

 1898 the annual and perennial varieties had entirely disappeared. 

 Considerable quantities of the Small-seeded and Italian varieties could 

 still be found, but the plats had become so impure through the intru- 

 sion of other grasses that the experiment was discontinued. 



Alfalfa was planted in 1889 on plats which had become "clover sick" 

 through frequent seeding of clover. Annual applications of differ- 

 ent combinations of superphosphate, sulphate of potash and ammonia, 

 bone dust, and nitrate of soda have been made. Three or four cut- 

 tings have been obtained annually. For the first 7 years of the test 

 the fertilizers showed no benefits, and sulphate of ammonia distinctly 

 reduced the yield. For the years 1896-1898 a marked increase in yield 

 occurred on plats receiving applications of sulphate of potash. 



Lathyrm sylvestris, sown in 1890, has given good yields continuously, 

 but the crop has been found useless as a feeding material, since stock 

 do not care for it. Lime has proved a valuable fertilizer on permanent 

 pasture lots. Tares have not been superior to mustard or rape when 

 used as green manures. Potatoes were benefited by applications 

 of Bordeaux mixture, even in seasons when little or no disease was 

 present. 



